Don’t Sweat The Election, The Fix Is In

  Haven’t written anything in a while out of disgust with the people the Republican Party is running, not to mention the system in general.   It would appear Santorum and Ron Paul, don’t have a chance in hell of getting through the primary intact, leaving Republican voters with the coldest man in America,  Mitt “I like being able to fire people” (while paying only 15% in taxes) Romney, and nasty Newt Gingrich, who continues down the path of trying to be the meanest man alive with his destructive, insensitive, sick and pathetic  list of derogatory words he recommends using against political adversaries.  No need to get into the hypocrisy of some on the Christian far-right for preaching against infidelity but saying Newt should be forgiven for cheating on his wives (one while she was suffering from cancer) — or the fact that his own caucus booted his more than ample ass out of the House after being the first Speaker in history to be disciplined for ethics violations.

Even if you think Gingrich should be forgiven on an issue of faith, it’s ludicrous to think his record of betrayal to those closest to him, both personally and politically,  shouldn’t be considered an issue with regard to his general character (or lack of same).   The man is running on a record of failure and he got rich doing it.  According to Bloomberg, he pulled in between $1.6 and $1.8 million working as an adviser for Freddie Mac.   Now that he’s running for office, he’s become an advocate for breaking up Freddie Mac.  Twisted, isn’t it?

That’s the heart of it.  The money.  The fact that the entire government process has been bought off.  Thoroughly co-opted by the wealthiest 1% and their lobbyists from K Street, who regularly send truckloads of money over to the hill to grease both sides of the wheel, ensuring our elected representatives will continue favoring the best interests of wealthy Americans and corporations, both domestic and foreign, while ignoring the interests and needs of the masses, whose power to control their own destiny has been neutered by the Supreme Court’s despicable decision in the “Citizens United” case, giving corporations the same rights as citizens.    It’s about the destruction of political equity and the American middle class.  And mostly,  it’s being ignored.   Or maybe the Republicans are waiting until they clear the slave states to get into the real issues dealing with the survival of what once was the American way of life.   We once were the envy of the entire world.  Now, some Canadians are afraid to come here, because the cost of getting sick or injured might wipe out their life savings.  I know they are.  I’ve talked to them.  Actual Canadians, that is, as opposed to PR people for big pharma, the insurance companies and the rest of our esteemed healthcare industry that’s convinced much of the country that being ripped off is far better than paying a fair price.  Canadians, know better.

50-million Americans are without health insurance as we continue to be one of only three  “developed” nations that expect their citizens to go without adequate healthcare.   The other two, are Mexico and Turkey.  We continue to pay far more for some prescription drugs than other “first world” countries.   On top of the already inflated prices, uninsured Americans are slammed again, as they are forced to pay as much as 60% more  for meds than those with insurance while those on the right continue to complain about “Obamacare” going too far.  Millions of jobs have been off-shored.  We are in need of 30-million jobs right now.  China places a tariff of 25% on American goods shipped to their soil, while we charge China only 2  1/2% on their products coming into America.

Our gap between the rich and the poor is chasmic.  A recent headline in London’s Daily Mail reads, “America’s pay gap shame:  Inequality between rich and poor is worse than Cameroon, Ivory Coast and revolutionary Egypt.”

And the Republicans answer is what?  To cut government spending.  Cut health care for the poor and the elderly.  Cut funding to education.   Cut rebuilding our national infrastructure.  Cut, cut, cut, so that corporations and the wealthiest of the wealthy at the top continue reaping huge profits while paying the lowest taxes in many years while the nation crumbles around them.   A nation (and its military) that gave them the opportunity to acquire the wealth they now have.

How many thousands of Americans have died in wars to preserve the idea that we are all equal under the law, and that our democratic process cannot be bought off by fascist economic interests?

These people are disgusting.  And no dear friends, this is not to say the Democrats, or most of them anyway, haven’t been bought off as well.  They have.  I readily admit it.   Our entire political system has been co-opted by the rich with the assistance of a totally politicized Supreme Court.  According to thinkprogress.org,  “American oil and gas industry lobbyists have spent nearly $12 million in campaign contributions to both Republicans and Democrats since 2009, when the Keystone XL building permit was originally filed.”

Kudos to Mr. Obama, for putting the Keystone pipeline project on hold, pending further discussion and analysis.  There are those who think the President could be doing far more.  Being a bit less cozy with the “too big to fail” boys on Wall Street might be a place to start.   His new White House Chief of Staff, Jack Lew, comes from Citigroup, where, according to The Huffington Post,  he invested in a hedge fund “that bet on the housing market to collapse.”  Working with the opposition is one thing.   Asking vampires to keep an eye on your bloodbank is another.

Deplorable though his demeanor may be, Newt Gingrich is right about one thing.  There are more important issues to discuss than his alleged infidelity or whether he really asked for an open marriage.

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